Pressing Forward
by NaleyBrucasFan - aka Lizzy
Summary: Everything seems to be perfect in Liz Parker’s life. Until one day Liz started feeling a little weird. Can the pod possibly save her before it’s too late? Or will this be the end of the Liz Parker that we love so much? *Revised*
1. Chapter 1 and 2

Title - Pressing Forward

Rating - Teen and in some places Mature

Category - All M/L, M/M, I/J, and Alex, but it's mostly about Liz  
Disclaimer - I don't own any of these characters. They belong to Jason Katims and Melinda Metz.

Summary - Everything seems to be perfect in Liz Parker's life. She's making great grades and had a great relationship with her boyfriend Max Evans. Until one day Liz started feeling a little weird and the next thing she knew it was up to the pod to try and save her. Can they possibly do it before it's too late? Or will this be the end of the Liz Parker that we love so much?

Chapter One

Liz Parker walked into the Crashdown Café with her hand interlocked with her boyfriend, Max Evan's hand. Max looked down at her and smiled. Liz smiled back and her mind drifted back to the first time she'd really noticed that smile of his, and had things changed since that September afternoon almost three years ago.

That September day was the day that Max Evans had saved Liz's life in the exact same Café, which Liz's parents just happened to own. From then on Liz had known the secret that Max, his sister Isabel, and their friend Michael, had kept from everyone for so many years. In the end, four others later found out and ever since that moment, they were all inseparable.

"Liz! Get your ass dressed! You were supposed to start five minutes ago!" This comment made both Liz and Max look away from one another and straight at Maria; they both started laughing softly to one another.

"Typical Maria." Max whispered so only Liz could hear him.

"Yep, but she's right you know." Liz replied then kissed Max on the lips. "I'll see you later okay?"

"Sure." Max replied, and then kissed Liz again before watching her walk into the back room.

"Bye Lover Boy." Maria said in a raised voice to Max as he started to leave.

All Max could do was laugh and wave at his girlfriend's best friend.

"Parker what's your excuse this time?" Liz heard Michael say as put her close into her locker and checked her hair and make-up before her long five hour shift starts.

"I was with Max, even though it's not really any of your business where I was. Now is it Michael?" Liz replied getting a little upset at him for what he'd said.

"You always say that." Liz heard Maria say beside her.

"Well it's the truth and why does it matter to you two where I was. I don't ask about your personal life together, so don't ask about mine." Liz snapped getting a little more agitated.

"Okay sorry." Michael said a little taken back, and then went on cooking the burgers on the grill.

"Hey Chica are you okay?" Maria asked getting a little worried about Liz.

"Yea sorry I didn't mean to snap. I am just a little stressed out about my parents leaving tomorrow for Boston, and they will not be back for a month. I don't know if I can do this by myself, even if the Crashdown's only going to be opened on weekends." Liz explained getting a little flushed.

"Sweetie that's totally understandable, but I promise that you're not going to be alone. Both Michael and I are going to help you out as much as possible."

"Hold it! We are?" Michael questioned shooting Maria a look.

"Yes we are." Maria said then continued as she gave Michael a mean look right back at him.

"Thanks you're the best." Liz answered as she hugged Maria.

"No biggie Chica. Are you sure there's nothing else that you wanna talk about?" Maria asked again.

"Nope everything else is fine." Liz said in the best convincing voice and smile that she could conjure up.

"Okay just checking." Maria said as she smiled back, "Come on lets get back to work before your dad sees us and totally freaks."

That comment made Liz start laughing as she thought about her dad freaking out and what he'd do. Liz and Maria then walked out the swinging doors and into a Café of hungry people waiting to get their orders taken and their food served to them.

_**5 ½ Hours Later**_

"Okay I'm out of here. Everything's clean Liz so all that you need to do is pick up the chairs."

"Thanks so much. I'll see you tomorrow." Liz waved as she watched Maria leave out the front door, to a waiting Michael, who also just got of work.

Twenty minutes later everything was complete and Liz could finally go up to the house and in her room.

"Lizzy can you come here please?" Liz heard her dad say from the kitchen.

"Yea Dad?"  
"I just wanted to make sure that you understand everything that's happening and that you're on the same page as your mother and I are."

"Yea Dad I totally understand. Everything is going to be under control." Liz answered hoping beyond hope that she was correct.

"Okay as long as we agree with one other."

Liz smiled at her dad then began to walk towards the staircase and to her room.

"Oh and Liz one more thing..."

"What dad?" Liz answered from the hallway.

"No parties and no Max Evans spending the night."

That was the comment that Liz had been expecting to hear all day long.

"I know Dad. No parties or Max in the house got it." Liz said as she walked back into the kitchen.

"Thanks Lizzy." Jeff said as he smiled at his little girl.

"Dad I am going to get ready for bed. Will you wake me up when you and mom leave?"

"Sure will."

"Thanks Daddy goodnight." Liz said then hugged her father.

As Liz looked around the house, she spotted her mother in her parents' bedroom and gently knocked on the halfway opened door.

"Come on in Liz." She heard her mother respond.

"Goodnight Mom. Dad promised me that he would wake me up when you both left."

"Okay. I'm going to miss you so much Liz. Please promise me that you'll be good." Nancy asked then hugged and kissed her daughter goodnight.

"I promise Mom and I love you too."

"Night Honey." Nancy repeated as Liz walked out of the bedroom.

_**Liz's Bedroom**_

"Finally" Liz couldn't help but think to herself as she sat down on her bed, "I'm alone."  
Liz laid down with her eyes just staring at the ceiling for a couple of minutes, but then the pain in her head that had been getting slightly worse all day long became way too much for her to handle anymore...

Chapter Two

"Lizzy…" Mr. Parker whispered as he and his wife very quietly and slowly walked into their daughter's bedroom.

Since it was only 4:30 in the morning, they knew that she would probably be fast asleep and they were totally correct. Liz Parker was curled up under her covers fast asleep and she looked like she didn't have a single care or worry in the world.

"Liz honey we're leaving. Can you lease just wake up for a minute?" Nancy asked as she gently shook her daughter's sleeping form.

Liz sort of shook then whispered love you, but both Nancy and Jeff knew that she would probably not remember it when she woke up, so they just kissed her on the cheek and quietly left the room.

"Be good." Jeff then whispered as he shut her bedroom door.

Liz heard the last thing that her dad said kind of, but all she did was turned over in her bed and was back into her deep sleep even before the door clicked shut.

_**Downstairs**_

Nancy quickly wrote Liz a little note, while Jeff got all their luggage into the cab.

As soon as Jeff walked back into the kitchen, Nancy asked if they were really doing the right thing by leaving their 17-year-old daughter all alone for almost a month.

"Nancy don't worry she's going to be fine I promise. She very responsible and she knows what to and what not to do. She'll be fine." Jeff answered trying to reassure his wife as much as possible.

"Okay yeah I guess I'm just overacting a little." Nancy replied trying to calm herself a little as she signed Liz's letter '_with love Mom and Dad._'

_**Later On That Morning**_  
_(Liz's Bedroom)_

"Grrrr…" Liz growled as her alarm began to beep loudly.

She knew that she had to get up, but that was the last thing on her mind. Her head was now in almost unbearable pain and she had no clue how she was going to be able to make it through school today.

"Come on Liz you've got to get up…"Liz thought coaching herself. "Just go slowly."

Ten minutes later Liz walked out of her bathroom with dripping wet hair. She thought that a short hot shower might help her head a little, which it sort of it, but it wasn't good enough to really matter.

While getting ready for school carrying how she looked was the last thing on Liz's mind. But since she didn't want her friends, especially Maria and Max, to find out that she wasn't feeling all that great, so she put on her pair of blue jeans and the new shirt that she had gotten when she went shopping with her mother a couple of days before. She then fixed her hair and waited for Maria to come and pick her up.

During the school day, Liz acted just as she usually did, or at least the best she could. Liz could tell that Maria thought something was up with her, but Maria never comforted her about it, which Liz was very thankful for.

"Liz wait up!" Liz heard Max yell behind her as she tried to make it out of the school before any of her friends caught up with her.

"What Max?" Liz asked getting a little annoyed, not from Max, but from her headache and school combined.

"Do you have to work tonight?" Max asked not realizing the unusual tone in his girlfriend's voice.

"No I don't, but I've got a whole lot of homework that's due tomorrow."

"Oh okay I guess I'll see you tomorrow then, but call me if you get sick of doing homework and want to hang out with someone."

"Okay Max." Liz replied, and smiled at him.

"Love you." Max then whispered her ear and gently kissed her on the lips.

"I hope I am not contagious," Liz thought to herself as she made her way towards the street. The last thing that she wanted was for Max to start feeling as bad as she did.

Threw everything that was taking place around her and how bad she was feeling, Liz completely forgot that Max, Isabel, and Michael could not get sick from her, because they were aliens.

"Finally peace and quiet," Liz whispered to herself as she walked into her bedroom.

Liz then changed into some comfy clothes and took some more medicine to see if that might help her head a little. However, as she was walking over to her bed she began to feel dizzy.

"You okay just lie down." Liz told herself as she began to feel herself start to freak.

Liz got to her bed and by the time she got her body underneath the covers, she was completely exhausted. By the time, she started trying to adjust her pillows her whole world went totally black.


	2. Chapter 3 and 4

Chapter 3

Maria Deluca got out of her comfy bed very lazily. It was 6:30 in the morning and she had to go and pick up Liz before school started at 8:00. Maria quickly got ready for school after she spent about ten minutes lounging around her bedroom. By 7:20, she was out the door and on her way to Liz's house.

"God I hope she's already awake and ready." Maria told herself. "Wait what I am thinking about. This is Liz Parker we're talking about here of course she's ready." Maria said with a smile.

Maria loved her best friend to death, don't get her wrong, but Liz Parker always seemed so perfect, she had excellent grades, the "perfect" boyfriend, and two parents that would do anything for her. Maria of course loved her mother more than anything did, but she would love just to trade places with Liz, if not even for a day.

As Maria pulled up to the back of the Crashdown Café, she looked around for Liz to see if she was waiting outside for her. Not seeing her, Maria stopped the Jetta in front of the backdoor and slammed her right hand on the horn.

After about a minute of waiting and seeing absolutely no sign of Liz, Maria repeated the whole horn process again. She again waited for some sign of movement, but again nothing happened.

"Okay that's it!" Maria snapped as she got out of the car and hastily walked over to the backdoor and turned to knob to see if it was open, but of course, it wasn't. Maria was now getting even more frustrated.

"Could this day get any worse?" Maria thought to herself as she climbed up the escape latter that lead to Liz's bedroom. Now it would have been a very easy task for Maria on most days, but today she was dressed in a mini shirt and high heal boots, which made it more difficult.

About thirty seconds later Maria placed her book on the solid ground of Liz's deck.  
Maria peeked into Liz's window and saw the room, which looked a little messy, but nothing out of the ordinary. Maria then lifted up the window, expecting it to be locked, but to her amazement, it wasn't. As soon as Maria got into the room she wished that she'd worn something different, because her shirt and shoes we're defiantly not made for climbing whether it be stares or through windows. Maria straightened her shirt and then looked around the room, then walked over to the door and opened it. She yelled Liz's name a couple of times, but got no response, so she decided to go check the bathroom to see if Liz was just in their getting ready, but something caught the corner of Maria's eye. It was Liz's hair sticking out from underneath the covers.

"Chicka, it's time to wakey-wakey. We've got to be at school in about 20 minutes." Maria said as she shook Liz's shoulder.

Liz didn't even budge, which wasn't like her at all, she had always been a fairly easy person to wake up, so this freaked Maria out a little.

"Liz I mean it. It's time to wake up." Maria said more seriously as she shook Liz more aggressively, but Liz was still fast asleep.

Maria then walked over to the other side of the bed and sat down on the bed.

"Liz…" Maria said as she gently pushed Liz's long brown hair out of her face. "are you okay sweetie?"

This time Maria actually heard something come out of Liz's mouth, but she couldn't understand what she'd said. Maria then noticed how pale and sweaty her best friends face and forehead was. As she gently placed the back of her palm on Liz's forehead, she was surprised by the temperature of the heat that was radiating off her. Maria then saw Liz's eyes slowly being to open.

"Chicka what's wrong?"

Chapter Four

Liz didn't actually stay anything; she just looked up at Maria with her totally exhausted eyes, and tried her best to smile at her friend, even though it wasn't much of a visible smile at all.

Maria was worried now. "Okay sweetie, I'll be right back don't move and try your best to stay awake." Maria said sweetly as she gently ran her fingers over her friends are in a caring manner.

"What in the world am I suppose to do?" Maria thought to herself as she walked out of Liz's bedroom "First of all Deluca you're not going to freak out! Your best friend really needs you."

Liz waited for what she thought was an eternity, and tried to open them when she heard footsteps getting closer to her bedroom, but she could not open those eyes of hers even if you paid her a million dollars. Her body was just too exhausted.

Maria walked into the room with a thermometer, washcloth, and a bowl half way full of water. She then very slowly put the bowl on the nightstand very careful not to spill any, and then she looked at Liz, who she then noticed was asleep again.

"I don't think so sweetie, you can fall back asleep right after I take your temperature okay?" She said as she gently shook Liz back into consciousness.

Liz opened her eyes slowly even though her whole body was screaming in protest and all she wanted to do was just pass out so she would not have to feel this tried and ill.

"Good girl." Maria said as she noticed Liz had opened her eyes again and as she got the thermometer ready. "Okay mouth open, and tongue up." Maria requested as she moved the thermometer closer and closer to Liz's mouth.

Liz obeyed and opened her mouth and closed it when the thermometer was underneath her tongue.

Liz had never felt so bad in all her seventeen years of life. She seriously thought that her head was about to explode at any given second, her throat was burning as if a fire was raging inside, and her stomach was rolling around. It felt like someone was grabbing her insides, twisting, and squeezing them around and around like a wet towel you were trying to dry. Her body also felt like it weighed a billion tons, and she had no clue what was causing her to feel this way, but she didn't like it one bit.

Maria just looked at her best friend as she waited for the thermometer to go off. She had never seen Liz look so sick in all the years she knew her, which really frightened the mess out of her.

The next thing either one of them knew they heard a beeping noise from the thermometer. Maria immediately pulled it out Liz's mouth and prayed it was not that bad. She then slowly looked down at the little black numbers that had appeared on the screen and read 101.2.

"What is it?" Maria heard Liz whisper.

"101.2. It's not that high, but I would like it for it to be lower."

Liz heard Maria say then she heard her ringing out the water out of a washcloth.

Liz then felt it being put on her forehead. She was surprised to feel the cloth be as warm as it was. She expected it was going to be freezing.

"How does that feel?" Maria questioned, then she saw Liz mouth better as her eyes began to droop, but she forced them open again.

"I'm going to go get the Tylenol from your parents' bathroom and see if that'll bring it down. Don't fight it get some sleep I'll wake you up when your medicine is ready." Maria said as she again ran her fingers threw Liz's hair before she got up off the bed and left the room.

Liz felt someone gently speak her name. She could have sworn she just closed her eyes not even a second ago though. Then she remembered that it was Maria who was trying to wake her up to give her meds that would help bring her fever down. Liz again slowly opened her eyes, but it was a few seconds before she could focus and see Maria looking straight at her. She could see how worried Maria was about her it was in her eyes, so to lighten up the mood Liz tried her best to smile, then saw Maria smile back, but she could see she was still worried. Liz then realized that she was going to have to sit up so that she could take the medicine, and moving was not something Liz really didn't want to do at the moment.

Maria then saw Liz trying to sit up by herself and immediately helped her. She knew how much of a pain moving was when you have a fever.

"Thanks." Liz said.

"No problem sweetie." Maria said smiling at Liz, as she gave her the two pills that were in the small paper cup. As Liz popped them into her mouth, Maria handed her the cup of water.

"Liz what's hurts? When did you start feeling sick?" Maria asked wanting to know these questions since she found Liz and realized she was sick.

Liz looked up at Maria and said, "My throat, my head, and stomach, and everything aches. I've had a headache since yesterday, but I didn't start feeling really bad until last night." She answered and made a mental note not to tell Maria about the whole passing out thing, she knew how much she would freak out.

"Why didn't you tell me at school?" Maria questioned.

"Because I didn't want to worry anyone, and I didn't know I would get this bad and this bad this fast." Liz answered as she felt Maria take the cloth off her forehead and redipped into the water, and placed it on her head once again.

Liz now felt really bad that she hadn't told anyone and Maria could see this.

"Don't worry about it sweetie. Getting you well is all that matters right now."

"Maria will you promise me something?" Liz asked as she tried to push away the nauseous feeling that was creeping up the back of her throat.

"Sure sweetie whatever you want?" Maria replied.

"Don't call or tell Max about me being sick please." Liz asked looking Maria straight in the eye to let her know how serious she was.

"Okay Chicka I won't call him. Why don't you try to get some sleep, you're getting even paler than you were before." Then it clicked in Maria's head. "Liz do you feel nauseous?"

All Liz had to do was nod her head yes and closed her eyes tight. Maria rushed over to get the trashcan out of her bathroom.

As Maria put the trashcan on the floor, she could see how much Liz was fighting now to be sick, but only second later Liz lost the fight. All Maria could do was gently rub Liz's back and hold her long brown hair out of her face.

"Better?" Maria asked calming as she helped Liz sit back up.

All Liz did was shake her head no and then huge tears started running down her already pale face.

"Oh sweetie, it's okay." Maria said as she gently pulled Liz into a hug, she'd never felt so bad for her best friend in her whole life.


End file.
